In a bit of a surprise, I got a call from BMW’s people yesterday morning saying they have Mini Clubman S lying around, and whether I wanted it. I have nothing better to do nowadays so I said “sure, why not.” And now it stands under my apartment, thanks to BMW’s awesome home-delivery service for press cars. It goes back to their stable after five days.
Motor accessories superstore Yellow Hat is saving up to three million gallons of fresh water every year by recycling its car wash usage. The company treats and reuses about 70 per cent of car wash water.
Japan-based tuner Ings has revealed the latest addition to their line-up of body kits for popular compact cars, now including the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
While we get no official love from Maserati’s GCC reps in terms of test cars, we can report that the facelifted 2009 Maserati Quattroporte is now on sale at dealerships in Dubai and the UAE, as newspaper ads for the car appear on a regular basis. The current range includes the standard Quattroporte as well as the Quattroporte S, while a new Quattroporte Sport GT S will debut at the upcoming 2009 Detroit Auto Show and soon join the GCC line-up next year.
Petter Solberg, renowned rally driver with the Subaru WRC team, came in third at the 2008 Bettega Memorial Rallysprint in some sort of rally race at the Bologna Motor Show, with his Subaru Impreza WRC. He celebrates by doing a victory lap. And then the ace driver breaks his hand in a bizarre incident which proves that you should never push your luck, no matter how good you may be.
Cars in America get recalled for various safety issues, if enough complaints come in. The NHTSA, a U.S. government entity that oversees car safety, received numerous complaints about the 2007-2008 Mini Cooper S, and forced BMW to issue a recall on 28,450 of those cars. Apparently, the protruding central exhaust tips were burning owners’ legs when they were unloading stuff after a drive.
The 2008 Abu Dhabi Auto Show played host to a number of new car launches, just in time for the credit crunch. Faisal Khatib attended the show and sent in these photos.
The original speed record for world’s fastest sedan, tuned or otherwise, was set by the Brabus Rocket, a heavily-modded car based on the Mercedes-Benz CLS ‘coupe.’ The record has been broken by tuning firm G-Power, with their Hurricane RS that is based on the BMW M5.
I’ve been zipping around Dubai all morning today, getting my hair blow-dried and losing a few in the process. Because BMW home-delivered this 135i convertible today, and the weather is perfect for such a car.
The current Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has been around for the better part of this decade now. Even though it still looks good, it is estimated that a new model should debut for the 2010 model year.